Facebook Motivates Millenials to Vote!

Seems like the Election Commission of India has taken this quote very seriously, and tied up with social media giant Facebook, to ensure that citizens across the country are registered to vote.

Nasim Zaidi, chief election commissioner, ECI, says in a press note, “I am pleased to announce that the ECI is going to launch a ‘Special Drive to enroll left out electors, with a particular focus on first time electors. This is a step towards fulfillment of the motto of ECI – ‘No Voter To Be Left Behind’. I urge all eligible citizens to enroll and vote i.e., recognize your right and perform your duty. I am sure this initiative will strengthen ECI’s enrollment campaign and encourage future voters to participate in the electoral process and become responsible citizens of India.”

According to an official release, a notification of the ‘voter registration reminder’ will be sent from July 1 onwards to people who are eligible to vote on Facebook. The reminder will be sent out in 13 languages – English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya. By clicking on the ‘register now’ button, people will be directed to the national voters’ services portal (www.nvsp.in) which will guide them through the registration process.

Ankhi Das, public policy director for India, South & Central Asia, adds, “People use Facebook to learn, talk and get involved with issues that matter to them. We want to build products that support this type of civic engagement – on Election Day and every day. We believe that democracies are stronger when more people are engaged, that’s why we are encouraging everyone who is eligible to register to vote and connecting them with resources.”

As an organization which firmly believes in using social media for social change, we are thrilled about this initiative. Our #SocialSurfing project (in collaboration with Facebook), also addresses this issue of using the power and reach of Facebook, to mobilize the masses to bring about positive change in our societal fabric. It is only through such collaborations, between policy makers and social media platforms, that positive change can come about.